Learning to live without soy

My wonderful husband has a soy allergy. We don't know yet how serious it is, except that his allergist recommended that he avoid eating soy or soy derivatives of any kind. And it's true that after many meals, he'll feel not only full but unwell. Tonight he and I did our weekly grocery shopping, and we became immediately aware of how many of our favorites were cooked either in soy (or soy derivatives) or were cooked with instruments that came in contact with soy. (I'm just thrilled that type of information is available on packaging--I had never noticed it before.) We spent longer than we ever have at the store, reading labels, putting things back, and moving on. At first, the mood was lighthearted and simply awestruck. But as we continued to put more and more of our favorite foods back on the shelves, Robert became discouraged. And why shouldn't he? It really hit the hardest at the cookie section. Everything is baked with either margarine or vegetable oils (which uses soy protein), so the message he got in the cookie aisle was: You're Not Allowed.

I realize that we're both going to have to make this change together, and I'm ready. If I were the one with the food allergy, I would probably tell him to keep eating whatever he wanted (just like he told me), but I would secretly feel resentful and deprived. Not that I think he would feel that way toward me if I started munching on all the cookies I wanted, but I don't think it's fair to do that to him anyway. We found some ice creams that would work for him--one is dolce de leche (Breyer's), which is a caramel-based ice cream. It turns out that the chocolate chip-based ice creams have soybean derivatives in them. We also found that our regular spaghetti sauce has soy derivatives in it, but we found out that Bertolli doesn't. I think we'll manage to get by. I know we will. It's just a matter now of shopping smarter.

I'd like to learn some soy-free recipes so that he and I can eat similarly to how we used to without him feeling sick afterwards. So, for instance, I would like to find some cookie recipes that would be really yummy. He should be able to eat cookies and milk if he wants to. This is going to be my new project.

For tonight's dinner, I'm making baked chicken with Panko breading (dredged in olive oil instead of margarine) and marinated with Lea & Perrin's chicken marinade (garlic and herb--turns out all other dressings are soy-based). I chose Panko because the Progresso Italian bread crumbs that I had originally planned on has soybean oil in it. Panko bread crumbs have less than 2% (if even any) of soy in it, so we're going to try it. I seasoned the breading with cracked black pepper and savory because it just smelled so darn good. On the side, we're having Mahatma yellow rice with olive oil instead of margarine. (Extra virgin olive oil, of course, hehe.) It smells really good. I hope it tastes really good, too.

Well, that's the timer. Fingers crossed! :)

Under the weather

For the first time since my husband and I were married, I'm sick. Now, this in itself wouldn't normally have any relationship to the fact that we're married now...except for the "small" fact that now we live under the same roof. Which means I can't shrug off illness, as I'm wont to do. I also can't ignore any other basic illness needs, like extra sleep. My husband has been taking incredible care of me, and when I asked him about it, he said simply, "Well, now you can't hide away from me in your apartment. I can actually do something about your illness now."

And do something he has done.

Friday night, he made sure I took some Nyquil in order to sleep because I was generally starting to feel under the weather. I couldn't really identify my symptoms yet, but I knew I was getting sick. Yesterday, he gave me some more Nyquil and instructed that I should sleep when I became tired...so I slept for three hours. This is something I would normally not have allowed myself to do. We also quarantined ourselves from each other (sad) so that I didn't give him my blossoming infection--he slept in our bed and I slept in the guest bed. Finally, today, when I woke up with painful chest congestion and a rattling cough, he took me to the nearby clinic.

I have a mild bronchial infection and am on a Z-pack/Mucinex regimen. Robert is keeping close track of my med schedule, which is helpful because it makes me very sleepy. I'm hoping to be better by Friday because this weekend is my sister's bridal shower. And I'm the co-hostess with my cousin and best friend. So...I can't be sick, lol. And if I am still feeling down, of course, I'll do the shower thing anyway. The details have all been taken care of now, so I'm positive it'll go smoothly. :)

At any rate, I am extremely thankful for my husband and his diligent attention when I'm sick. I don't usually take care of myself in this way when I'm sick, so it's really nice to have someone to depend on. :)